Browsing by Author "Prajapati, AK"

Now showing 1 - 6 of 6
  • Item
    Design and Evaluation of Chitra Swab Collection Booths for Health Professionals in COVID-19 Pandemic
    (Transactions of the Indian National Academy of Engineering, 2020-12) Prajapati, AK; Nair, SS; Venkatesan, RB; Muraleedharan, CV; Kishore, A
    The 2019 novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2), officially named as COVID-19 by the WHO, has spread to more than 180 countries and the confirmed coronavirus cases have reached around 10 million with 0.6 million deaths by end of June 2020. Moreover, there is no sign of a sustained decline in any country till date. Continuous rise of positive cases has instilled fear in people, society and even health professionals. According to WHO’s daily situation report, 22,073 COVID-19 cases of healthcare professionals have been reported to the WHO as of Wednesday, 8 April 2020 by Jin (Mil Med Res 7:24, 2020). Infection to health professionals is a serious concern not only because they are a valuable frontline worker but also because of the risk of spread to co-workers and non-Covid patients. This project was undertaken to develop a solution to minimize the chance of infection to the health care professionals by providing them isolation from a potential source of Covid-19 and similar highly contagious diseases. The two models of Chitra swab collection booth were developed to: (1) protect health professionals from the risk of infection (2) to provide technical know-how to manufacturers to produce booths using locally available materials while meeting international regulations and (3) reduce the consumption of personal protective equipment. The prototypes developed were tested for safety and efficacy in accordance with the guidelines of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, USA. The device received the registration for commercialisation from the Central Drugs Control Standard Organization, Ministry of Health, Government of India, as a non-notified medical device.
  • Item
    Development and Evaluation of Expandable Brain Retractor with Tunable Expansion Ratio
    (Trends in Biomaterial and Artificial Organs, 2022-01) Prajapati, AK; Vilanilam, GC; Muraleedharan, CV
    The brain tumor treatment is challenging and requires highly skilled neurosurgeon. These tumors are surgically excised by isolating them from normal tissue using surgical retractors. The retractors provide maximal and safe exposure of the surgical field to the surgeon, which is evolved from the handheld retraction system. The majority of brain surgeries use Leyla and Greenberg retract. This traditional retractor induced ischemia, edema and parenchymal trauma are well known, which result in brain tissue injury in up to 29% of cases. The authors conceptualized a single unit circumferential 360-degree expansion mechanism to reduce brain injuries. Further, the surface area is optimized to keep brain tissue retraction pressure within the limit of Leyla retractor. The design equations are derived for smooth manufacturing and a simple locking mechanism maintains retractor to certain deployed diameter in a stable and steady manner. The device is prototyped, and the concept is verified against analytical models. It is conceived as a cost-effective, efficient, and easily manufacturable concept using design equations. The findings demonstrate the advantage of the proposed retractor over existing retractors. The retractor aims to provide optimal retraction pressure, facile handling, universal size, and workspace between the retractor flanges. Its applications may also extend to other surgical specialities and visceral organ sites.
  • Item
    Furthering the Medical Devices Sector in India
    (InnoHEALTH, 2022-09) Prajapati, AK
  • Item
    Knee Implant Price Capping
    (InnoHEALTH Magazine, 2022-01) Prajapati, AK
  • Item
    Orthopaedic segment in India – from pandemic dormancy to a better future
    (Current Science, 2022-02) Prajapati, AK; Komath, M
  • Item
    Prosthetics and orthotics for persons with movement disabilities in India in the postpandemic milieu
    (Prosthet Orthot Int, 2023-11) Prajapati, AK; Komath, M; Subhash, NN
    The SARS-CoV-2 disease had a severe impact on global socioeconomic growth, and its harmful effects continue with virus mutation. Over the past 3 years, the pandemic has caused isolation, mental trauma, stress, financial losses, and various health complications in individuals. Recent reports have stressed the sufferings of the physically abled population. However, we should not neglect the challenges faced by the disabled population, which were more severe in many ways due to their dependency on others at various levels. The strategies implemented to contain the virus have further aggravated their sufferings and made it even worse because health care priorities were skewed toward public-centered care. As a result, it is difficult to determine the extent of care the disabled population received during the pandemic. Moreover, a single-centered study reports that amputations in India increased by 54.1% compared with those during the prepandemic era. This indicates the need for special attention to the physically disabled community, especially persons with movement disabilities. These individuals are partially dependent and have the potential to make significant contributions to the gross domestic product if included in the human resources pool. The Indian government had launched various initiatives to improve their living status. But delays in policy implementation, reduction in budget allocation, and the ongoing pandemic have derailed the efforts. For these reasons, this article emphasizes several challenges in movement disability care. In addition, it makes recommendations for improving the quality of life of persons with movement disabilities. These include collaboration, creating start-up businesses, applying state-of-the-art logistics, establishing a technological ecosystem, raising public awareness, accessing high-quality care, and using contemporary medical devices.